Internal combustion engines of manually guided work tools such as motor-driven chain saws, abrasive cutting-off machines, etc. are provided with a starting device that can be actuated manually. A starter rope rolled up on a reel or winch is rapidly pulled on a handle, which causes it to be rolled off. The reel, put in rotation by the pulling, drives the motor crankshaft of the internal combustion engine in order to start it. Periodic forces and in particular force peaks occur in the hand of the user during the pulling of the starter rope. The force peaks make the starting of the internal combustion engine particularly unpleasant for the user. Handles with dampings are provided in the state of the art in order to smooth out the force peaks.
DE 30 21 268 A1 discloses a handle with a damping element separate from it, which damping element is part of the pull-rope fastening on the handle. The force peaks are smoothed out by an elastic deformation of the damping element. The damping element is compressed or clinched in the handle.
In contrast thereto, DE 40 25 667 C2 describes a handle with an extension element. In the handle described in this publication an end of a starter rope is fastened to an extension element and the extension element is clamped in a recess of the handle. The expansion element is expanded in the handle when the starter rope is pulled and as a result smoothes out force peaks.
Both of the handles described above are designed as substantially T-shaped, one-piece rubber molded parts. The damping element is designed as a separate component and inserted into the handle. The manufacture of multipartite damped handles is cost-intensive. In addition, the handle and the end of the starter rope of the cited pull-rope starters execute a relative motion relative to one another, during which friction causes additional material wear.
In another previously known variant of damped handles described in EP 1 203 883 A2 the reel is elastically connected to the starter housing by a spiral spring. A multipartite, relatively expensive construction is required here, as in the case of the two first-cited handle dampings.
The above-described handles of starting devices for internal combustion engines are material-intensive. In addition, the contact surfaces between the hand and/or the fingers in the handle are stiff, which can result in cramping in the hand if the starter rope is pulled several times.